Hong Kong People Oppose Returning Snowden to U.S., Poll Shows

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http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-06-16/hong-kong-people-oppose-returning-snowden-to-u-s-poll-shows.html

Hong Kong residents would oppose any demand for extradition of Edward Snowden, the former National Security Agency contractor who fled to the city after exposing a U.S. surveillance program, according to a poll published today.

Almost 50 percent of 509 respondents oppose or strongly oppose returning Snowden should the U.S. make a formal request, showed a survey commissioned by the Sunday edition of the South China Morning Post, and carried out by the Centre for Communication and Public Opinion Survey at Chinese University.

Waving banners calling for the protection of free speech, and chanting slogans such as “NSA has no say,” about 200 protesters yesterday marched to the U.S. consulate and the Hong Kong government headquarters, demanding city leaders protect the one-time Central Intelligence Agency technical assistant.

“People will not be very happy if all the decisions are made by Beijing,” said Willy Wo-lap Lam, an adjunct professor of history at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. “It’s being seen as a highly symbolic case whereby Hong Kong should be able to make up its own mind regarding whether to surrender or extradite Snowden back to the U.S.”